Exit 69: Troy, Michigan = No Place Like Home

I have to admit it, the city where exit 69 is officially the exit for Big Beaver Rd...gives me some mad pride right now. For just a few miles away from this great American road is where my home resides...

Yes, I pay ridiculous amounts of money for taxes and yes, traffic can be quite brutal during rush hour, but still...Troy, Mich. has managed to landed spot #22 on CNN Money's top 100 best small cities to live in America, beating out other great Michigan cities -- Ann Arbor (#27), Novi (#48) and Sterling Heights (#61). And I'm just beaming.

I knew the hubby and I picked here for our landing spot for a reason...and not just for the kick booty public schools that teach Mandarin Chinese and the vast array of shopping and coney islands.

I learned a lot of interesting facts with this list and decided to list the highlights:
Air quality index*(% of days AQI ranked as good)
80.3% (75.9% is best cities avg.)
% students attending public/privateschools (located within town limits)
95.0/5.0 (best cities avg. 89.0/11.0) -- GO PUBLIC!
Restaurants(within 15 miles) -- This is good for the foodie in me!
5,368 (4,094 is best cities avg.)
Divorced
7.2% (sadly, 8.3% is best cities avg.)

So the bags of leaves I'm rakin' is this (thnx, Nicolena):

People in Troy are breathing healthy air, obtaining great educations in a public school system, eating their little hearts out and staying happily married.

Now those are some stats that will make me stay for years to come!

Another point of Troy pride...For those who enjoy Project Runway (as I do), one of Troy's own is a designer on this season's show. His name is Joe Faris and he's described as the "down-to-earth" straight father of two. I can't wait to see how far he can go...

Thanks for making Troy and all of southeast Michigan proud!

And Joe, if I ever see you in T-Town, the drinks are on me. Way to go, brother!

GO JOE!

P.S. Please send my pleasant regards to Tim Gunn!